abstract:The term Third Rome describes the idea that some European city, state, or country is the successor to the legacy of ancient Rome (the "first Rome") and, according to different perspectives, either via connection to the Byzantine Empire (also known as the "Eastern Roman Empire") as being the "second Rome"; or via connection to the Western Roman Empire through its claimed successors such as the Papal States or the Holy Roman Empire as being the "second Rome".
Rome has less than a third fewer taxis per resident than London or Paris, because the Italian taxi guild lobbies and strikes to keep taxi licenses to a minimum and competition non-existent.
The Vatican's centuries-old secrecy over the way it handles its money will no longer be an excuse to avoid its obligations under international and Italian criminal law to combat money-laundering operations by third parties, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.